Baby cribs. Family photos. Wedding rings. Children’s toys. Even a wheelchair belonging to an elderly man who could barely walk without it.
“You’re going to return everything,” Rocco said quietly as he walked between the piles of stolen belongings. “Every dish. Every blanket. Every toy. And you’re going to apologize to each family personally.”
Vincent’s face was swollen from the night’s interrogation, but defiance still flickered in his eyes.
“And then what?” he asked. “You let me walk away? We both know that’s not how this works.”
Rocco stopped in front of a small pink teddy bear. He picked it up, remembering how Emma had clutched her bicycle handles with the same desperate grip.
“You’re right,” Rocco said.
“That’s not how this works.”
He turned to face Vincent.
“You stole from children. You forged documents using dead men’s names. You put your hands on a 7-year-old girl.”
Each word carried the weight of a death sentence.
“In my world there are consequences for crossing certain lines.”
“Boss, please,” Vincent said. “I’ll make it right. I’ll pay back triple what I took. I’ll disappear.”
“Vincent, the moment you hurt those families, you stopped being my problem.”
Rocco gently set the teddy bear down.
“You became theirs.”
